This chicken brine recipe is made with lemons, honey, fresh herbs and spices, and produces a juicy tender chicken every time! A foolproof way for succulent and flavorful roasted, smoked or fried chicken.
If you’ve never had a brined chicken before, you’re missing out! It takes just minutes to make a chicken brine, but the end result is nothing short of fabulous. Serve your brined chicken with glazed carrots and rice pilaf for a complete meal.
I always get anxious about cooking large items of poultry like whole chickens and turkeys. It’s just so easy to either overcook the birds until they’re dry as a bone, or undercook them so they’re raw in the middle. This chicken brine infuses a whole bird with tons of flavor and helps to keep it from drying out in the oven. Brined chicken is the best chicken you’ll ever eat!
How do you make chicken brine?
To make this recipe, you’ll need salt, honey, lemons, herbs, garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves. Everything goes into a large pot with water and is simmered until the salt has dissolved. After the mixture has cooled to room temperature, you can add your chicken to the pot, then refrigerate it until you’re ready to make dinner.
Why do you brine chicken?
Chicken is a naturally lean type of meat which mean it’s prone to drying out. When a chicken is placed into brine, it absorbs some of the brine which helps to both keep it moist and also to season it all the way through. When you’re working with a brined chicken, even if you overcook it a bit, it should still come out tender and juicy.
How long do you brine chicken?
A whole chicken should be submerged in brine for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours. Do not go past the 24 hour mark, as your chicken may be overly salty if it sits in the brine for too long. If you’re looking to brine bone-in chicken pieces such as chicken thighs, drumsticks or breasts, you’ll want to soak them for about 4 hours. If you’re working with boneless chicken pieces, you can brine them for about 2 hours.
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- This recipe tends to work well with smaller chickens in the 3-5 pound range. This is simply because you’re more likely to have a deep pot to brine a smaller chicken in. If your chicken is larger than the biggest pot in your house, you can use a brining bag.
- Be sure to use kosher salt, do not use table salt in this recipe. Table salt measures differently than kosher salt and your chicken will be too salty with table salt. I typically use Diamond Crystal kosher salt.
- Feel free to mix up the flavorings to fit your preferences. You can try orange instead of lemon, brown sugar instead of honey, add dried chiles for a little spice, or use fresh sage instead of thyme.
- Make sure the liquid is completely cooled before you add the chicken for food safety reasons. Sometimes when I’m in a hurry, I add a cup of ice cubes to help speed the process along.
How do you cook brined chicken?
You can cook this type of chicken in any way that you would normally cook a whole chicken. Here are a few ideas to get you started.
- Roasted Chicken with Garlic and Herbs
- Slow Cooker Whole Chicken
- Peruvian Chicken
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Fried Chicken
Once you try a brined chicken, you’ll be hooked! Everyone will think you’re a gourmet chef when they get a taste of your perfectly cooked chicken. While making a this brining solution is an extra step in the cooking process, it’s totally worth it in my opinion.
Chicken Brine Video
Chicken Brine Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 1/2 cup kosher salt do not use table salt
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 5 cloves of garlic smashed and peeled
- 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
- 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 sprigs fresh parsley
- 2 lemons sliced
- 4 lb whole chicken
Instructions
- Place the water, salt, honey, bay leaves, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme, parsley and lemons in a large pot. Bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- Cook for 3-4 minutes or until salt has dissolved.
- Turn off the heat and cool completely.
- Add the chicken to the cooled brine. Make sure the chicken is completely submerged.
- Cover the pot and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the brine and rinse with cool water; pat dry with paper towels. Proceed with roasting, smoking or frying the chicken.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on January 2, 2019 and was updated with new content on January 13, 2022.
Eliza says
Thank you for a great recipe. Brining adds so much flavor, and the combination of flavors you developed is just divine. Another winner from Dinner at the Zoo!
Anjali says
This looks like the perfect brine – love all of the flavorful spices in it – I can’t wait to try it the next time we make chicken at home!
Kristen says
I made this for family and they all thought the herbs gave such a refreshing spin. Thank you!
Jess says
The secret to a juicy and tender chicken is always in the brine! This is a good one!
Tiffnany says
I don’t like the taste of lemons so I replace with limes. Otherwise I love this brine recipe adding other seasonings like turmeric or cardamom is simple and doesn’t mess up the taste.
Nicogf says
This is my absolute favorite brine and here I am ready to submerge my chicken and I have NO Lemons! I can easily use a substitute of white wine or vinegar for lemon juice – is there anything similar I can do for this brine that won’t ruin it? I realize I likely won’t get a response quickly enough, but this may happen again at some point. Thank you!
Sara says
I’d just omit the lemon or use something like orange instead!
McKenna says
Hi Sara! I made this for Thanksgiving and it was absolutely delicious. Thank you for yet another winner 🙂 .
I wanted to make it again today, but I used up the rest of my honey. Do you think maple syrup or granulated sugar would be a good replacement?
Sara says
Yes either of those will work!
Jennifer says
Just a fabulous brine recipe 👍💕 it is my go to for brining all of my chicken! I didn’t have thyme so I added fresh oregano and just threw everything in a Ziploc bag with my spatchcock chicken. It transforms a “good” chicken dinner into a GREAT one. Thank you for posting and sharing! Your recipes are fabulous!
Carole Blaney says
Could about 1 teaspoon or so each of dried rosemary, thyme, and parsley be used in place of fresh? Thank you.
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Laura says
Could I add the brine and the chicken into a larg ziploc bag to ensure it is fully submerged? It seems too shallow for a pot.
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Jami says
Takes a lot more water than 8 cups to submerge a chicken. Had to add more cold water.
Annette says
Makes the best moist chicken when left in this brine. I personally leave in the brine for a minimum of 24 hours. I smoke my whole chickens and usually make two different flavors. My chickens come out super moist, super flavorful. I would give this recipe 10 Stars if I could. 🌟
Victor Ibarra says
I want to do three chickens combine total weight is 15 pounds do I just triple all the ingredients?
Sara says
You could probably double the brine and add a little extra water to make sure the chickens are fully submerged!
Diane says
We love this brine. The chicken comes out perfect every time!
paula says
can i use this for chicken breast?
Sara says
Yes you may just want to cut the recipe in half! And chicken breasts will only need to brine for 2-4 hours.